Method of assembling prefabricated containers



Dec. 21, 1943. J. E. PAGE 2,337,125

METHOD OF ASSEMBLING PREFABRICATED CONTAINERS Filed Jan. 2,1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. PAGE Dec. 21,1943.

METHOD OF ASSEMBLING PREFABRICATED CONTAINERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 2. 1941 Patented Dec. 21, 1943 METHOD OF ASSEMBLING PREFABRIGATED CONTAINERS John Ernest Page, Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada, assignor to Gibson Patent Containers, Ltd., Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, a corporation of New South Wales, Australia Application January 2, 1941, Serial No. 372,898

3 Claims.

My invention relates to a prefabricated container, method of assembling the same, and a jig for assembling the prefabricated container.

The novel features of my invention will be best understood by the following description and the annexed drawings, in which I have shown selected embodiments of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the body portion of a container embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a jig for assembling the container embodying my invention.

Fig. 3 is a side view in section showing the body portion of the container partially in place in the assembly jig.

Fig. 4 is a side view in section showing the body portion of the container in position for assembly in the assembly jig with the bottom of the container also in position for assembly.

Fig. 5 is a side view in section showing the container partially released from the assembly jig in partial assembly.

Fig. 6 is a side View in section showing the container released from the assembly jig and completely assembled.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the assembled container.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of another form of container embodying my invention.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of another form of container embodying my invention.

Fig. 10 is a side view in section similar to Fig. 3 showing a modified form of assembly jig, and

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the jig shown in Fig. 10.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the container, preferably made of cardboard or like material, consists of a body portion It. This body portion II) has side walls II at the lower edges of which there are inwardly extending flanges I2 on which there are formed tongues I3. The flanges I2 are continuations of the side walls II of the body portion It, each flange having been appropriately cut so as not to interfere with adjacent flanges and folded to extend inwardly of the side walls I I of the body portion.

A bottom I4 is supported on the flanges I2 and has slots I5 through which the tongues I3 extend in interlocking engagement with the bottom. When the bottom I5 is thus secured in place, it holds the then assembled container in its proper shape to be used.

The body portion It being made of cardboard or the like may be folded or collapsed so that it forms a flat sheet. The bottom I4 is also a flat sheet. It is desirable to have those parts of the container in the form of flat sheets for shipping and storing until they are to be put in use.

A container embodying my invention may be readily assembled from the prefabricated blanks when it is to be used. For this purpose there is a jig I6 which has side walls I! defining an opening corresponding in shape and size to the body portion I0.

Inside of the side walls ll of the jig there is a projection in the form of a raised platform IS, the edges of which are spaced from the side walls ll of the jig to accommodate the lower part of the container body portion III.

In assembling the container the collapsed body portion I0 is folded into shape with the flanges I2 folded to extend inwardly of the side Walls II of the body portion. The body portion I0 thus formed is placed in the jig It so that the flanges I2 strike the platform It and are brought to a horizontal position as shown in Fig. 3. When the body portion I0 has been fully advanced into the jig It the flanges I2 and the tongues I3 are bent upwardly by engagement with the sides of the raised platform I8 so that they are held in substantially a raised position. In this raised position the tongues I2 have an acute angular relation with the vertical.

With the tongues I3 held in this position the bottom I4 with the slots I5 in alignment with the tongues I3 is placed inside the body portion I0 so that the tongues I3 extend at least partially through the slots I5 as shown in Fig. 4.

The thus partially assembled container is then released from the jig I6 permitting the flanges i2 and the tongues I3 to bend downwardly due to the inherent resilience of the material so that the tongues I3 come into full interlocking engagement with the bottom I4 illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 to complete the assembly operation.

In Fig. 8 the container has a hexagonal configuration instead of square and in Fig. 9 the container is circular. In each of these instances the shape of the assembly jig would be changed accordingly and the assembly procedure would be the same.

In Figure 9 there are tongues In which are straight and are not hooked as illustrated in the other figures, the precise form of tongue utilized in carrying out my invention being immaterial.

Ordinarily the bottom I 4 may be guided by hand when it is being inserted inside the body portion Ill. But in order to facilitate assembly the bottom I4 may be automatically guided into place. For this purpose a guide rod I9 extends from the raised platform N3 of the jig and fits a key slot 20 in the bottom 14 to insure the alignment of the slots [5 with the tongues l3 when the bottom is put in place as described.

I claim:

1. A method of assembling a container having a body portion with inturned flanges with tongues thereon at its lower edges and a bottom supported on the flames and having means for interlocking with the tongues, consisting of placing the body portion on a jig so that the tongues are held in a substantially raised position, inserting the bottom inside of the body from the top of said body portion to a position where the interlocking means are in engagement with the tongues, releasing the partially assembled container from the jig to permit the tongues to move into final position relative to the interlocking means thereby completing the assembly of the container.

21. A method of assembling a container having a body portion with inturned flanges with tongues thereon at its lower edges and a bottom supported on the flanges and having means for interlocking with the tongues, consisting of placing the body portion on a jig so that the tongues are held in a substantially raised position, inserting the bottom inside of the body from the top of said body portion to a position Where the interlocking means are in engagement with the tongues, the bottom portion being guided so that the interlocking means are in alignment with the tongues for engagement therewith, releasing the partially assembled container from the jig to permit the tongues to move into final position relative to the interlocking means thereby completing the assembly of the container.

3. A method of assembling a container having separable body and bottom portions consisting of placing the body portion having hinged tongues at its lower edges on a jig so that the hinged tongues are held in a substantially raised position, inserting the bottom in which there are 

